Vampire Diaries: Origins
by CdnGreatestHits
Summary: My idea of the family that was the originals and what happened to make them vampires.
1. Chapter 1

The Originals

Long ago, in Eastern Europe... The warm glow of early sunset bathed the rolling hillside in a warm, golden glow. On the crest of the valley, a boy of fourteen sat, dark head of hair in his hands, thinking. Behind him, a girl of about sixteen ran towards him, her delicate footfalls silent and dark brown hair trailing behind her in ribbons. Both were wearing shapeless white shifts and were barefoot. The girl pounced on the boy, knocking him down.

"Evine! Stop it! Get off me!" the boy cried, pushing her off.

"Oh, come now, Tomakai. Where is your sense of joy? Our eldest brother is to be married and you are sitting her glumly on a hill..." she said in a sing-song voice.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked sternly in her eyes. "Where do you get this information from?"

She shook him off, unfazed. "I have just come from outside father's chambers. Rebekka's dowry has been negotiated. She and Elijah will wed by the coming of the next new moon."

"So, it is final then?" he asked, puffing his chest out like a man.

"Yes... Anya and Myra declare Elijah to be smitten..." she replied, twirling a blade of grass between her fingers.

"And the bride?" Tomakai asked.

"Rebekka is beautiful! An man with eyes could only say as much," Evine replied.

"Does she love him?"

Suddenly, a young man in his late teens, appeared behind them. "It is not her place to love or to not love. She is the gem of her rather strange little family and by the might and power of ours, father has acquired her as Elijah's bride," the new arrival explained with an air of authority.

"Klaus!" Evine shouted, clasping her arms tightly around his neck. "Tomakai is being no fun whatsoever!" she complained.

Klaus bowed in response. "How might I be of service then, my noble little sister? You know how dearly I love to serve your constant desire for amusement."

"My good, mirthful, mischievous brother... Race me," she challenged.

"You wish to be beaten in a challenge...? That is your desire for amusement?" he joked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I daresay I'm lighter on my toes and far swifter that you, dear Klaus," she replied, eyes glowing.

"I'd like to see this," Klaus replied. "Where shall we race to?"

"That free tree," Tomakai suggested to them.

Evine and Klaus nodded in agreement and before anyone could declare the race begun, Evine was off like a shot, sprinting toward the tree. Klaus ran, gaining on her. He was stronger, had more power in his legs, but she was as stated, lighter on her feet so that it seemed like she was just skimming the ground as she flew past. She reached the tree first, springing up on her feet and propelling herself onto a branch. She reached to pluck a ripe piece of fruit. Klaus wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to the ground hard. They tumbled over one another, playfully wrestling. Klaus pinned her shoulders and playfully she did not resist, but raised her piece of fruit to her mouth and took a large bite. Klaus snatched the fruit from her and ate it up before she could protest.

Just then, Tomakai spotted to figures on the horizon, heading towards them. He waved his arms at them in a beckoning gesture.

"Elijah! Jerusha!" he shouted.

The men rushed towards them then.

"I was not aware that we had called a family gathering," the one called Jerusha, the younger and more stern-looking of the two, remarked.

"Evine, what are you doing rolling around in the dirt like a pig with Klaus? Shouldn't you be with our sisters, preparing the bridal suite?" Elijah asked, barely concealing his smile.

"Oh! To hear it from your lips! I'm overjoyed! Are you overjoyed?" she asked, brushing the dirt from her clothes and hugging Elijah tightly.

She did not wait for him to respond. She took off towards their home at top speed. The watched her go, long tangles of hair trailing behind her and her shift shipping up around her knees.

"Sweet little angel..." Klaus remarked.

"With the spirit of the devil..." Jerusha completed, quoting their father's famous line about Evine.

"It appears many congratulations are in order," Klaus intoned, bowing mockingly at his brother.

"I've just now come from my meeting with father. All is in place. It is finalized," Elijah replied.

"Provided she proves chaste upon inspection," Jerusha added.

"Have you reason to believe she will not pass?" Tomakai asked.

"Merely procedural," Elijah replied confidently.

"They say her people are peddlers of magiks," Jerusha stated.

"Idle gossip, I'm sure. Father would never negotiate a betrothal to a woman even a hair less that reputable and a treasure for his favourite son," Klaus stated.

"Is she beautiful?" Tomakai asked.

"I have but seen her once, and she was veiled. The fabric was thin though, and purple, and I could make out the edges and forms of her face. A fine face from the plains of it that I saw..." Elijah said.

"I doubt it was the forms of her face you were gazing upon and admiring..." Klaus leered.

"Have you no concept of honour?" Jerusha chided.

"Have you no original thoughts other than the prejudices father places in your head?" Klaus retorted.

Elijah stepped between them with his hands peacefully raised. "Now, now brothers. It is not the time for squabbling and posturing one another like boys. I am to be wed... there are feasts being prepared in my name! All father's bounty shall be on display. Let us make good use of it and fatten ourselves!"


	2. Chapter 2

The banquet hall was prepared according to the most rigorous standards of the day. Long tables were piled high with roasted meats and exotic fruits. Plentiful quantities of wine were served by cheerful servants. Three dais were erected in a half circle at the head of the room. In the center sat the men: Elijah, Jerusha, Nikklaus, Tomakai and their father Abramas. To their left the women were seated: Anya, Myra, Evine, and their mother Syrrah. Each was opulently outfitted; the men in deep purple, the color of wealth and power, and the women in white, the color of purity and virtue. The three girls were partially veiled with lace so that they were presented as modest, but shown off to the men of the room as prized potential brides.

Abramas rose to his feet and the room which was previously humming with chatter went silent.

"My friends, guests in my home, please join me in welcoming our most honoured guests, the family of Karloff Petrovisky. Soon our two families shall be one in marriage," Abramas addressed the crowd.

The musicians on hand struck up a celebratory tune, and through the doors began the procession arranged by the Petrovisky family. Servants filed in, their arms weighed down with gifts from chests of gold and silver to silks and pottery. A calf, fattened and painted gold was lead in on a lead rope attached to a jewelled bridle. Each gift was more extravagant than the last, and the crowd was appropriately enraptured.

Then came a parade of dancing girls in gossamer costumes than concealed little, writhing about suggestively for the crowd's amusement. They were followed by costumed drummers. And this was followed by a half dozen shaman, in long hooded robes, chanting an eerie blessing. These caused the crowd to go silent.

Finally, the actual family began to file in. First was Karloff with his long dark beard and piercing black eyes. He was dressed in robes similar to the shaman's but with far more ornamentation. On his arm was the matriarch of the family, his wife Demitra. She would have been beautiful with her long hair and well-kept figure, but her face was disfigured with a battle scar; the long line of a sword blade carved from her left temple to her right jaw. Her appearance caused the crowd to whisper a thousand speculations about how such a wound had been acquired. Their daughters followed close behind. First, was Olga. She was dressed in all black and heavily veiled; a widow, her husband lost in battle. Then were Antonia and Renata, thirteen and fourteen, dressed in flowing white with half veils, and a air about their walk that suggested numerous improper thoughts to the men present.

Finally, the bride-to-be emerged. She was weighed down by the sheer amount of lace and beading and gold on her gown, so she walked slowly towards the dais. She wore a floor-length translucent veil. Her family took their places at the third dais, leaving her to stand stock-still before Abramas.

"Rebekka," Abramas presented. "We are most pleased to announce that she has passed _all_ tests."

The crowd whooped, hollered, and raised their chalices in toast.

"The next moon rises in three days time. On this day, you shall be wed. So now, let us feast in the name of our bride!" Abramas declared, and there was much rejoicing.

**AN: How's everyone liking the story so far?**


	3. Chapter 3

"Only one golden calf? Whatever have you done to displease our father that he did not demand more?" Klaus joked with Elijah as he removed his gilded sword sheath after dinner.

"I feel as though I've eaten an entire fatted calf," Elijah replied, patting his belly.

"Over-indulgence seems to be the order of the evening," said Klaus, pointing at little Tomakai, who was passed out from wine on the low sofa.

"In his defence, the wine-bearing girl was rather attractive," Elijah replied, causing them all to break out into fits of laughter.

"The shamen were an interesting touch... a little show of power," Jerusha added.

"Gypsies will be... gypsies?" Klaus said.

"Wealthy gypsies who try to make a show of power as they sell their daughter to us..." Jerusha completed.

"I suppose it was to be expected that they would want to counteract the rumours that they are selling their daughters outside the gypsy clans due to a lack of wealth. The droughts have been particularly difficult these past few years. The peasants are not producing enough crops to feed themselves and pay their proper dues to landowners. Father suspects there may be unrest if it does not rain soon, even in our own territory," Elijah explained, pouring water into the washing basin.

"Ah, so there is the possibility of a good military campaign before the year is out?" Jerusha asked, excited while popping a grape into his mouth.

"Fancy a little peasant quashing?" Klaus joined in.

"Not for you at least, brother. Father will send Elijah as his voice of authority and myself as his head of military. You will stay home and guard the women and children," Jerusha told him with a hint of menace.

"Why is it that my skills are never particularly valued?" Klaus complained.

"It is not that father does not value your skills... He has a finite number of sons and cannot lose them all in battle. There must be an heir. Who knows, you might get lucky," Elijah reassured, clapping Klaus on his back. "Besides... we might get lucky and lose dull, proper Jerusha in battle," he added cheekily, whispering in Klaus' ear.

Klaus grins and goes to pour himself a fresh goblet of wine.

**/**

The boys may have had the evening to play, but for the female part of the family, there was much work to be done over the next few hours. Anya took another spool of delicate white silk from the arms of the servant girl. She passed it to Myra and they wound it around the wood of the hand-carved bed canopy. Syrahh unpacked chests filled with the finest white linens woven and sewn for this very occasion. The room glittered from the reflection of the firelight on the golden threads that ran through everything. Evine placed potted night blooming flowers around the room and interwove dried flowers into the fabric that Anya and Myra were hanging.

"We must hurry, daughters! The shamen are coming by dawn to bless the chamber and there mustn't be anyone else in here when they arrive. And we cannot fix anything afterwards as the room will be sealed," Syrahh explained, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.

**AN: Please review if you can. :)**


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